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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28625241">Giving up (to) the Ghost</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kharons_End/pseuds/Kharons_End'>Kharons_End</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work/Anime Parody</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Comedy, Gen, Spinoff, Trope Subversion/Inversion, magical girl trope, references to my other story "I broke the cardinal rules...", soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:41:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,307</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28625241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kharons_End/pseuds/Kharons_End</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mia has just started her first Magical Girl Mission with her mascot/sidekick/advisor Purin, and it's not what you'd think it would be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>It's Snowing Somewhere Else: An Undertale Themed Secret Santa 2020!</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Giving up (to) the Ghost</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemilu/gifts">Artemilu</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Here's the gift for Artemilu's prompt for the It's Snowing Somewhere Else: An Undertale Themed Secret Santa 2020!</p>
<p>Their Prompt was: One night after beating up some monster a magical girl see a ghost of a little girl crying and tries to help out.<br/>This can be either a spoopy story or a soft story</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m sorry, you want me to say <em>what</em> now?”</p>
<p>Mia, at the ripe age of 18, just graduated from high school and on her first official summer break before college, had just become a magical girl.</p>
<p>“You have to say it to transform!” came the high pitched boyish voice from the slime she met a month ago, “Say ‘<em>magic magic slime pudding power, HENSHIN!!!!”</em></p>
<p>“What do hens and shins have to do with transforming?”</p>
<p>“It’s Japanese for—”</p>
<p>“Why can’t I say it in English then? All the rest of the phrase is in English.”</p>
<p>“Miaaa! Concentrate!”</p>
<p>She should have listened to her sister and thrown him into the ocean.</p>
<p>Still, Purin (the slime’s equally strange name) wasn’t totally insufferable, and her desire to be a vet technician and her compassion for animals is what made her save him in the first place. Plus, it would be bad for her resume if she just abandoned him with no thought to the local ecosystem.</p>
<p>“Aren’t you even a <em>little</em> excited for your first mission as a Magical Girl?”</p>
<p>“Not really,” she replied coolly, “It’s embarrassing to run around in that frilly dress.”</p>
<p>Purin spluttered, sending ripples throughout his rounded slime body.</p>
<p>“But the <em>magical powers,</em> and the feeling of doing <em>good in the world</em>~!”</p>
<p>“I don’t need magical powers to do good things. People do it every day.”</p>
<p>“JUST TRANSFORM, MIA! OUR SLIME COLONY DEPENDS ON YOUR GOOD ENERGY!”</p>
<p>Mia sighed, unable to stall any longer. “Magic magic slime pudding powder, hen-shin.”</p>
<p>“MIA, IT’S ‘<em>magic magic slime pudding<strong> power,</strong> HENSHIN!!!!’</em>”</p>
<p>“<em>Magic magic pudding</em> <em>power, henshin!”</em> she groused.</p>
<p>Purin’s attitude switched from being comically irate to energetically cheery as he did a backflip, and shouted “<em>Pudding power, activated!”</em></p>
<p>An aura of pink polka dots and sparkles surrounded the two of them as Purin’s body outstretched and ribbonned around her in an impressive display of slime acrobatics, and the appendages wrapped around her body, coalescing into shapes against her skin. In a flurry of sparkles, the slime transformed into a shiny, slick material in a mess of bows and ruffles.</p>
<p>Mia’s face quirked into a scowl of distaste, but her thoughts were quickly redirected to the pink, oblong shaped communicator in her hand. It chirped twice with a :”<em>ping pong! ping pong!”</em></p>
<p>She clicked the star-shaped button and the screen blipped to life, revealing a pastel orange slime on the other end.</p>
<p>“Sir Purin! We’ve located a girl in need of assistance! Southbound on 7th avenue!”</p>
<p>“Thank you, Porin! Are there any Salties in the area?”</p>
<p><em>Salties</em>: the creatures that fed on sad emotions and the sworn enemies of the slimes, according to the poorly drawn picture board session that Purin had forced her to sit through. She had only seen a picture of them, which seemed to look like a mixture of a snow hare and a possum that spread salt wherever they went.  </p>
<p>“Yessir! We spotted one a block away from the disturbance! It looks like it’s aiming for the target!”</p>
<p>“Aye aye Porin! Keep us updated!” Purin saluted, though she didn’t have the communicator pointed towards him, so she wondered what the point of the gesture was in the first place. </p>
<p>“Yessir!”</p>
<p>And with that, the communicator switched off to a GPS map of their mission.</p>
<p>— ＜（＾－＾）＞ — </p>
<p>When they reached the location, it was already twilight.</p>
<p>Mia had just reached the intersection between the hardware store and a diner, and the sparse parking lot made it easy for her to scout the area quickly without being caught by the spare pedestrians judging her for her outfit.</p>
<p>“It should be somewhere here!” Purin urged, clinging onto her shoulder in a pure defiance of physics. “Keep your eyes open!”</p>
<p>As if on cue, a small possum like monster darted from the bushes, sniffing about with it’s unusually pointed snout and stood on its hind legs, alert. It’s wide mouth opened, revealing sharp rows of teeth as it tasted the air, and soon it was looking her way. It whipped it’s thin tail about and spoke.</p>
<p>“Ahhhh, Purin, we meet again!” came his rough, gravely voice.</p>
<p>“Krode!”</p>
<p>Krode sneered and laughed with a mocking tone and pointed a tiny clawed paw towards them.</p>
<p>“You’ll never reclaim this happiness, Purin! The lovely heart energy is <em>mine</em> to corrupt!”</p>
<p>“Magical Girl Mia will stop you this time, Krode! Love will prevail!” the slime cried, jumping off of her shoulder and landing in front of her. “Mia, it’s time we put your skills to use! Use your magical pudding be— where are you going?!”</p>
<p>It was obvious, wasn’t it? She was entering the hardware store.</p>
<p>“We— we’re giving you a chance to flee! But when we come back, prepare yourself, Krode~~!” Purin hollered over the woosh of the lobby doors. Mia only got a glance at the shocked look of their “arch nemesis’” face before she entered the store proper.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>A few minutes later, Mia exited the building with a small bag and a young, college-aged man with curling ram horns jutting from his head, trailed behind her.</p>
<p>“You sure you don’t want me to take care of him?” he asked.</p>
<p>“No thanks Kolbalt, I got this.”</p>
<p>She forgot her sister’s boyfriend worked here.</p>
<p>“Okay, if you say so.” He shoved his hands into his carpenter jeans and glanced at the still-present Krode, and then to Purin. “Your sister told me to tell you that dinner starts at six.”</p>
<p>Mia nodded, then rifled through the small bag. “Okay, thanks. Tell Misty I’ll be there.”</p>
<p>He nodded and turned back into the building, leaving the tense scene to continue.</p>
<p>“A— ahh, prepare yourself, Krode!” Purin restarted. “Mia, use your attack!”</p>
<p>She complied, walking closer to Krode in preparation. The possum monster bristled but stayed put, glaring at her with a haughty grin.</p>
<p>“The last magical girl couldn’t handle our salty sadness! What makes you spe— “</p>
<p>Mia uncovered the spray bottle and began to cover ground in front of him, creating a half circle. His nose scrunched up in disgust, and soon he was covering up his snout with both paws, shivering.</p>
<p>“What is this?”</p>
<p>“Organic possum deterrent. It won’t hurt the environment,” she replied, satisfied at the coverage.</p>
<p>“You think a— a…— ACHOOO! This is <em>awful! Garlic?</em>!”</p>
<p>Mia nodded. Her biology teacher would be so proud of her! “Among a few other things. Onions, Quassia chips. All natural.”</p>
<p>Krode sneezed again, looking paler than what she thought was even possible considering his white fur coat, and backed away.</p>
<p>“A formidable opponent,” He hissed, “I’ll be back next time, Magical Girl Mia! Your effective potions won’t get the best of meeee!”</p>
<p>She flipped the nozzle to the closing position and deposited the bottle back into the bag, much to the chagrin of her mascot friend.</p>
<p>“<em>Miaaa~!”</em> Purin half sobbed. “You didn’t even use the magical attack we practiced!”</p>
<p>“It’s against my morals to hurt animals,” she replied with a shrug. “He’s gone and that’s what counts, right?”</p>
<p>“But where is your magical girl spirit?!” He groaned as she picked him up. “Did I...did I choose wrong?”</p>
<p>“You chose me because I saved you from going down the sewer drain. There wasn’t much of a process to begin with.”</p>
<p>He sighed again, deflating. “But you were so niiiice!”</p>
<p>Mia shrugged as she flipped out her communicator to search for the anomaly.</p>
<p>— ＜（@－@）＞ — </p>
<p>They found her a block away, just past the ice cream shop.</p>
<p>She looked no more than ten, with long curly pigtails, a pink t-shirt and denim roll cuff shorts, and a pair of old-style light up sneakers from at least 15 years ago. She was huddled by a lamp post, crying with her head against her knees.</p>
<p>Mia knelt down in front of her, a small frown on her face as she tried to pat her back, only for her hand to pass through the girl completely.</p>
<p>“She-she’s a <em>ghost!</em>” Purin shivered, “How <em>scary~!”</em></p>
<p>Mia scowled at him and scooped him off of her and onto the ground.</p>
<p>She was only a child, no matter how much of a physical presence she had left in this world, and there was no way Mia could just ignore a child crying out in the middle of an abandoned lot.</p>
<p>“Hi,” she started gently, “Can you tell me your name?”</p>
<p>The girl gasped and jerked her head up, gazing at Mia with wide eyes.</p>
<p>“My name is Ami! You can see me?!”</p>
<p>“I can,” Mia replied with a gentle smile, “What are you doing out here?”</p>
<p>The girl started to explain.</p>
<p>“Umm, so...my parents and I always used to go to this shop when it was open,” she sniffled, “And they were the happiest times in the whole wide world because they would always get me a pistachio and rainbow sherbert ice cream cone!”</p>
<p>Mia was starting to understand <em>how</em> the little girl became a ghost according to that flavor combination. She waited for her to continue.</p>
<p>“And! And! one day when we came here during the summer time, a little girl with blue hair came with her parents, and my mommy said ‘Oh, that girl will become a magical girl later in life,’ and when I asked her what a magical girl was, she told me that a magical girl was a girl who spreads happiness and cheer by fighting off bad guys! And I thought that was really amazing!”</p>
<p>For some reason, Mia’s thoughts went back to her older sister, who’s blue hair often stood out when they were kids. She was starting to get a bad feeling.</p>
<p>“But when I asked the blue haired girl, she said that magical girls were lame!”</p>
<p>The Ami started crying again, much to the chagrin of Mia. Yep. She <em>definitely</em> knew who the blue haired girl was.</p>
<p>“So — so I wanted to — <em>hic</em> — prove to her that magical girls were awesome, but then…!”</p>
<p>She let out a big snort from sucking up the snot and cried, “A big truck came by— an ‘E-Say-Kai’ truck — and my family got into a car crash— !”</p>
<p>Mia leaned back and pinched the bridge of her nose, then looked over to Purin.</p>
<p>“So what do we do now?”</p>
<p>Purin wiggled in place, humming in thought.</p>
<p>“We need to make her happy so we can collect the good energy to power the slime colony! But what can we do?”</p>
<p>...The whole problem was that this ghost wanted to convince Misty (or at least, who she <em>thought</em> the blue haired girl was) that magical girls were cool.</p>
<p>And that was an absolute, 100% impossible thing to do.</p>
<p>“Would it help if you became a magical girl?”</p>
<p>Both Purin and Ami looked at her in disbelief.</p>
<p>“Can you really do that?” she asked with a hopeful smile on her face.</p>
<p>“Mia, <em>how</em> are you going to do that?” Purin asked with a much <em>less</em> hopeful smile.</p>
<p>Mia took out the small pen from her skirt pocket and clicked the top, and the stick transformed into a gaudy wand, complete with a translucent blue orb adorned with a crown at the tip.</p>
<p>“I just have to grant her happiest wish, right?”</p>
<p>It took a second, but Purin beamed at Mia with pride. “Oooh~! You <em>did</em> listen to my lessons! Yes! You just have to raise the wand up and say ‘<em>Starry Slime Magical Wish!!’”</em></p>
<p>Mia didn’t have to be told twice. She rose the wand up above her head for some theatrical flair and said in a not totally dead voice— </p>
<p>“Starry Slime Magical Wish: Make Ami a magical girl, just like me!”</p>
<p>This time a pink and blue aura surrounded the area, and a flurry of stars and sparkles and droplets swirled around her until they swarmed the ghost girl. The two were lifted into the air, then In a blinding flash of light, they were set back down onto the pavement.</p>
<p>Ami was now dressed in the same, shiny, frilly outfit that Mia was, looking elated.</p>
<p>“Mia, you did it!” Purin cheered! “Now all you have to do is collect her happy energy by saying—”</p>
<p>“Not quite yet,” Mia interrupted, stopping Purin mid sentence by holding her hand out. She turned back to Ami and smiled.</p>
<p>“Okay, Ami. Here’s your first official Magical Girl Mission. You have to grant people happiness by making their happiest wishes come true, so I offer myself up as practice! Now repeat after me!”</p>
<p>Ami nodded vigorously as she somehow managed to pick up the wand that Mia offered her.</p>
<p>“Okay!”</p>
<p>“Starry Slime Magical Wish— “</p>
<p>“Mia what are you doing— “</p>
<p>“ <em>— Starry Slime Magical Wish—</em> “</p>
<p>“Make Mia a normal girl by giving all her powers to me!”</p>
<p>Purin was <em>screaming</em>.  “ —MIA NO—”</p>
<p>“<em> — Make Mia a normal girl by giving all her powers to me!”</em></p>
<p>Oh, yeah, she was forgetting something. “Permanently!”</p>
<p>“<em>Permanently!”</em></p>
<p>The aura came back in full force, repeating the exact process in reverse as Mia’s Magical Girl outfit unravelled itself, leaving her back in her normal clothes. She looked down and sighed in relief.</p>
<p>“MIA!” Purin wailed in anger and despair. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”</p>
<p>“I made <em>two</em> people very happy,” she replied, smiling. “Okay Ami, now say ‘<em>shimmering slime happiness, collect!’ </em> and you’ll finish your first mission!”</p>
<p>Ami, now the only magical girl within the vicinity, repeated the words with a million times more gusto than she did, and the orb of her wand sparkled to life. The lightshow didn’t last long, but the deed was done.</p>
<p>Wow, seeing the pure joy in Ami’s eyes <em>was</em> fulfilling!</p>
<p>“Now, Purin is your extra loveable mascot, okay? And he’ll teach you everything you need to know.”</p>
<p>Ami clutched the wand to her chest and nodded enthusiastically.</p>
<p>“Good luck, Magical Ghost Girl Ami!”</p>
<p>“Thank you for everything, Miss Mia!”</p>
<p>Purin, who had landed at the fourth stage of grieving, wailed hopelessly as Mia turned about and walked towards her sister’s home.</p>
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